Web AccessibilityBuilt for everyone, by default

Accessibility is a quality, not a feature#

Most organisations treat accessibility as a compliance task, checked at the end of a project or fixed after a complaint. That is the most expensive way to do it. Accessibility decisions are made throughout design and build, in colour choices, heading structures, form labels and component behaviour. Retrofitting them means redoing work.

It also undersells the benefit. Accessible sites tend to be clearer, faster and easier for everyone: captions help people watching without sound, good contrast helps in bright sunlight, keyboard support helps power users, plain language helps non-native readers. Accessibility is a discipline of clarity, and clarity converts.

A website that only some people can use is a website that has decided to turn some customers away.

Who benefits#

Disability is broader and more common than many teams assume. It includes permanent conditions such as blindness, deafness or limited mobility; temporary ones such as a broken arm; and situational limitations such as glare on a phone screen or a noisy environment. Older users frequently experience changes in vision, hearing and dexterity. Designing for this range improves the experience across your whole audience.

People use different assistive technologies: screen readers that convert text to speech or braille, screen magnifiers, voice control, switch devices and keyboard-only navigation. Each depends on the site being built with proper structure and semantics.

WCAG in brief#

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are published by the W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative. Version 2.2 was published in 2023 and builds on 2.1 and 2.0. The guidelines are organised under four principles, often abbreviated as POUR, with testable success criteria at three levels: A (minimum), AA (the common legal and contractual target) and AAA (enhanced, not usually required across a whole site).

Laws in many jurisdictions reference WCAG, directly or through national standards. Examples include the European Accessibility Act, which applies to many consumer-facing digital services in the EU, and India's Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, alongside government guidelines for public websites. Requirements differ by sector and country and change over time, so check current obligations with legal advice for each market you serve.

The issues that matter most on marketing sites#

Full WCAG conformance covers many criteria, but a handful of issues account for much of what blocks real users on typical marketing and ecommerce sites. Fix these first.

• Colour contrast. At level AA, normal text needs a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background, and large text at least 3:1. Light grey text on white is a frequent failure.
• Text alternatives. Informative images need alt text that conveys their meaning; decorative images should have empty alt text so screen readers skip them.
• Form labels and errors. Every field needs a programmatically associated label, and errors must be described in text, not only by colour.
• Keyboard access. Everything that works with a mouse must work with a keyboard, with a visible focus indicator showing where you are.
• Headings and structure. Use real heading elements in a logical order so screen reader users can navigate by heading.
• Link and button text. 'Click here' and 'Read more' are meaningless out of context. Describe the destination or action.
• Media. Videos need captions; audio content needs transcripts. Avoid autoplaying media with sound.
• Motion and timing. Provide ways to pause moving content and avoid time limits that cannot be extended.

Accessibility in the design process#

The cheapest time to address accessibility is before anything is built. Brand colour palettes should be checked for accessible combinations when they are defined. Component libraries should specify focus states, labels and keyboard behaviour. Content guidelines should require plain language, meaningful link text and alt text. Treat these as part of your design system, not as an afterthought.

How to test#

Automated tools are a useful first pass. They catch issues such as missing alt attributes, low contrast and missing form labels quickly and at scale. But automated checks can only detect a portion of WCAG issues; whether alt text is meaningful, whether focus order makes sense or whether a custom widget is usable requires human judgement.

1. 01Automated scan of key templates with a browser extension or testing tool.
2. 02Keyboard test: put the mouse away and try to complete key journeys, checking focus visibility and order.
3. 03Screen reader test on main templates with a common screen reader on desktop and mobile.
4. 04Zoom and reflow: enlarge text substantially and check content remains usable without horizontal scrolling.
5. 05Testing with disabled users, ideally as part of regular usability research rather than a one-off audit.

Content editors carry half the load#

A well-built site can still become inaccessible through everyday publishing: an image uploaded without alt text, a heading chosen for its size rather than its level, a PDF that cannot be read by a screen reader, a video without captions. Give editors simple guidance, build required fields and checks into the CMS where possible, and include accessibility in content review. This is where accessibility is won or lost after launch.

Accessibility and search#

Many accessibility practices align with search engine optimisation: descriptive headings, meaningful link text, alt text, transcripts and a logical structure all help search engines understand content as well as assistive technology. This is not a reason to do accessibility, but it does mean the work serves several goals at once. See on-page SEO for the overlap.

Making it stick#

Accessibility decays like any other quality when new content and features are added without checks. Give it an owner. Include accessibility criteria in briefs, definitions of done and the website launch checklist. Train content editors on alt text, headings and link text. Publish an accessibility statement that explains your target, known issues and how to report problems, and respond to reports promptly.

Published by Fabulous.Media, a network of specialist marketing agencies. Updated 9 October 2026. Platform features change often; check current official documentation before acting on platform-specific detail.